This article is from page 12 of the 2011-05-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE’S reputation as the county that makes electoral history was continued on Friday when Cllr Martin Conway was elected to Seanad Éireann on the Administrative panel, a success that been hailed as an historic breakthrough for the disability sector.
Senator Conway, who has been a Fine Gael member of Clare County Council for the last seven years, was selected to contest the Seanad election by the People With Disabilities Ireland (PWDI) group only months after his own party refused to put him on the ticket for the General Election.
Now, in being elected to the Upper House on Friday night to bring Fine Gael’s complement of Oireachtas members to an historic four, Senator Conway has created a famous first for Clare and national politics.
“From the vision impairment perspective, I’m the first person member of the Oireachtas ever to be elected with a severe vision impairment,” Senator Conway told The Clare People .
“There hasn’t ever been someone elected with the level of eyesight I have, which is less than 20 per cent.
“It is a great achievement for myself, given the battles I’ve had over the years, the disadvantages I’ve had over the years. I was born with it and lived with it all my life. It isn’t an is- sue I go on about but I speak about it when I’m asked,” he added.
Senator Conway’s success came against the odds as he was up against two former Fine Gael TDs who had the imprimatur of the party in a highly competitive seven-seater constituency.
“I had to look at long and hard about standing,” admitted Senator Conway. “It’s a separate house and I don’t buy into theory that because I didn’t get to run in the Dáil that I’m automatically going to run in the Senate as a second best option.
“I looked at panel system, as outdated and archaic and all that it is, from my perspective in politics, that the most appropriate panel was the Administrative panel given the outside nominating bodies are the voluntary disability sectors.
“My life experience of disability of being the only councillor the country with a declared disability, there was scope there for representing a minority group. Given that the Senate is supposed to be for minorities I felt I could competently represent that minority group.
“I sought the nomination for People With Disabilities Ireland (PWPI). I felt I could be a strong advocate for the issues that concern them. They gave me their nomination. I toured the country and I met every Fine Gael councillor I could – 90 per cent of them and got the vote out,” added Senator Conway.